Registration open for March 27 Westwood Lecture on the social significance of religion in China

Registration is open for faculty to attend the upcoming Westwood Lecture Series event on March 27.

Fenggang Yang, professor of sociology and director of the Center on Religion and the Global East, will present “The Social Significance of Religion: From China to the Global East” from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at Westwood, the Purdue president’s residence.

The Westwood Lecture Series is an opportunity for Purdue faculty and those staff members engaged in the research topic to interact with colleagues on scholarly work. The program is aimed at enhancing the intellectual vibrancy of the Purdue West Lafayette campus. 

Information about Yang’s presentation is below. Space is limited to the first 50 faculty who register online.

“The Social Significance of Religion: From China to the Global East”

Fenggang Yang

Professor, Department of Sociology and director of the Center on Religion and the Global East

College of Liberal Arts

Abstract. Religion in China has survived and thrived despite Communist rule. Among the diverse religions, Christianity has grown dramatically in the last 50 years, while China has been undergoing rapid modernization. The religious change in China poses serious challenges to the political authorities, existing sociological theories and research methods. We have developed conceptual and methodological tools to understand religion’s social significance in China and the Global East, which includes East Asian societies, East Asian diasporas and East Asian cultures around the world.

Biography. Fenggang Yang is a professor of sociology and founding director of the Center on Religion and the Global East at Purdue University. He served as president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion from 2014-15 and was founder and president of the East Asian Society for the Scientific Study of Religion from 2018-20. Yang is the author of “Atlas of Religion in China: Social and Geographical Contexts” (2018), “Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule” (2012) and “Chinese Christians in America: Conversion, Assimilation and Adhesive Identities” (1999). He has given many invited lectures and keynote presentations at major universities and professional associations in the U.S., Asia and Europe. His interviews have appeared on National Public Radio, CNN and BBC and in The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, the Economist and other media outlets. 

Upcoming Spring 2024 Westwood Lecture Series Events

April 17: Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun — clinical associate professor of music, College of Liberal Arts. “Embracing AI Technology in Music Performance.”